Tornado outbreak of February 2 - 4, 2018
The February 2 - 4, 2018 tornado outbreak was a period of severe weather that allowed for favourable conditions for tornadoes to form. The outbreak was caused by a winterstorm moving into the Mississippi Gulf Coast and colliding with a dry line over the state, which led to the development of supercells, enabling tornadoes to touch down over Mississippi and Alabama as a result. An EF4 tornado tore through Meridian, Mississippi on February 3, causing over $150 million in damages and 7 deaths, and the first tornado emergency of the year. The other destructive tornado of the outbreak hit Hopewell,causing 60 million in damages and killing 7 people in the process. Other weak to strong tornadoes occurred during the outbreak, with an EF2 hitting Laurel, Mississippi on the first day of the outbreak, severely damaging the town in the process. Synopsis On February 1, a powerful winterstorm moved into the lower Mississippi, enabling the development of severe thunderstorms as atmospheric instability increased to 3500 J/kg3 early the next morning, and a Moderate Risk for severe weather was issued by the NWS SPC for the day, along with severe thunderstorm and tornado watches as well. The first tornado of the outbreak touched down by 1330 CST, severely damaging a farm in the process. This continued for the rest of the day sporadically. The following morning, the SPC shifted their warnings to cover central Mississippi and western Alabama, and issued an Enhanced Risk for central Mississippi in and around Meridan, noting the potential for dangerous tornadoes in the area. Later that afternoon, a violent EF4 wedge tornado hit Meridian, and PDS tornado warnings and a tornado emergency were declared for the area during the event. Another significant tornado hit Hopewell, which would later receive an EF3 rating, dealing similar results. On the final day of the outbreak,the SPC issued a Moderate Risk, calling for a few strong tornadoes near the Mississippi - Alabama state line, and an EF2 tornado hit Winfield, causing moderate damage there, with other weak List of tornadoes February 2 February 3 February 4 Notable tornadoes Laurel, Mississippi This tornado developed outside of town before reaching EF2 intensity with estimated 125 mph winds as it passed through town. 4 people were injured when their mobile home got destroyed, and $12 million was done in damages by the twister, which lasted for 15 minutes. No deaths were reported from this event. Meridian, Mississippi This violent EF4 wedge tornado was on the ground for 30 minutes, and destroyed the town of Meridian, killing 7 people and causing $155 million in damages in the process. A PDS tornado warning was issued for the town 15 minutes before the tornado touched down, and then a tornado emergency was also declared about 10 minutes before it hit. This is the most violent tornado to hit the town since proper records began in 1950 in the US. Hopewell, Mississippi This tornado was on the ground for 22 minutes, and brought devastation to the small town of Hopewell, Mississippi, destroying a mobile home park, injuring 7 people in the process, and causing $60 million in damages there. Hundreds of trees were pulled from the ground by the force of the twister whilst it was on the ground. Winfield, Alabama This high end EF2 tornado wrought havoc in Winfield, Alabama when it suddenly developed. With no warning of the tornado being on the ground, the event had already happened by the time the warning made it out of the local NWS office. 4 people were injured when their mobile home got destroyed by the tornado, which did $15 million in damages whilst on the ground. Category:Tornadoes of 2018 (Layten) Category:Outbreaks